Ohio Toxic Mold Information   

 The IAQ/IEQ Consultant you hire to perform the investigation of a potential or suspected IAQ problem is critical to the proper identification and remedies for any air quality problems you are having. Be cautious about hiring a consultant that advertises "mold testing". In many instances this consultant will show up at your door carrying a mold testing kit purchased through some inspection equipment catalog or other source. In many cases, these types of investigative tools are misleading and can result in potentially serious pollutants being missed or overlooked. The problem may not even be mold related. There may be many different factors contributing to an IAQ problem.

The testing kits I have seen are petri dishes with some type of nutrient agar in them. Inspectors use them as settlement plates for collecting airborne fungi which is then sent to the lab for analysis. This type of testing has a large potential for bias and is of little value during an IAQ investigation. One of the main reasons that relying on gravity for settlement into the petri dishes is so unreliable is the spores are of different weights and sizes and therefore settle at different rates. Another factor with this type of sampling is choosing the proper sampling media. In a general fungal agar, such as Malt Extract, faster growing colonies can overgrow slower growing fungal colonies and therefore make them difficult or impossible to find (ex. stachybotrys is many times overgrown when using MEA). An experienced consultant will create a sampling strategy that will take all factors into account, and then choose the proper sampling protocol, equipment and media. Your consultant should always have Quality Control Reports for any agar media which is used for sampling and they should meet the requirements of NCCLS Guidelines. This is critical if litigation is involved. It is also very important that your consultant have experience in interpreting data from any sampling performed, not only microbial but all air sampling.

Proper IAQ Investigation Methods

An experienced consultant will begin by performing a visual inspection of the building. This helps to spot easily visible problem areas, water penetration into the building, visible reservoirs for biological agents, ventilation problems, etc. Questioning the building occupants and making notes of any symptoms reported which could be related to biological agents is important to forming any meaningful hypotheses as well. It is from these initial observations that a meaningful investigation can proceed. Once the consultant has formulated a hypothesis concerning the situation, a sampling strategy can be developed to either prove or disprove the hypothesis. It is at this point in the investigation that the consultant will want to discuss their initial findings with their lab, bacteriologists, mycologists, toxicologists or any other health professionals deemed necessary to help in formulating a sampling strategy. It is best to have some idea of what agents you are looking for when sampling is performed and the above professionals can help in the development of a suitable sampling strategy for the particular situation.

Your investigator should also be experienced building/construction defect investigation. This may be perhaps the most critical qualification. The investigator should be knowledgeable in construction defects, HVAC system design, IAQ, codes, standards and troubleshooting. The underlying cause of any microbial contamination will most certainly be related to some type of construction defect. The defect(s) need to be properly addressed before the beginning of any remediation project. Another question that needs to be answered in an investigation is how the contaminants are making their way into the occupied space. This takes an investigator experienced in ventilation and IAQ investigations. Many IAQ problems can be traced to improper building ventilation, and the problem in the building may, or may not be related to biological contaminants. Look for IAQ professionals having CIEC, CIH, CIAQM, CIAQP, CIAQT or CSP designations to assure that the investigator has proven experience in IAQ issues.

There are almost as many mold inspector certifications as there are mold inspectors. The certifications of your investigator should be verified and the certification should be a certification by a program accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). The CIEC, CIH and CSP designations are all accredited. These investigators have either degrees or years of verified experience in indoor air quality issues and investigations.

Beware of Inspectors Using Test Kits

“Settle plates do not collect airborne particles in a representative manner and do not reliably measure bioaerosol concentrations.” Bioaerosols, Assessment and Control [ACGIH '99], Section 2.3.2.2

“The settling of particles by gravitation onto a culture plate or a microscope slide depends highly on particle size and is influenced strongly by air movement.  Given the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of ambient particle movement, investigators cannot directly relate the number of CFUs [mold colony forming units] on a settling plate…to the concentrations of the corresponding particles in the sampled environment.  Gravity samples should not be used even to determine the relative air concentrations of different microorganisms because of the method’s collection bias.” Bioaerosols, Assessment and Control [ACGIH 1999], Section 11.3.1  

Proper Equipment

A consultant that does not have or use the proper equipment, media, protocols or procedures will limit the useful information that can be gathered from an investigation. The following equipment is critical to any IAQ consultant performing any meaningful IAQ investigation:

Photo Courtesy of C.L.I. Group, LLC

"Garbage In...Garbage Out" - Many unqualified mold testing companies use methodologies for sampling which would never stand up in a court of law should your case involve litigation or the avoidance of litigation. Understanding proper methodologies, different sampling media and methods, the limitations of a particular sampling method and calibration of equipment to a N.I.S.T. traceable standard are all areas where unqualified practitioners fall short. This could bias there results making them unreliable. The image above was taken using a primary standard to calibrate a sampling pump in the field to assure accuracy.